Queen's Dawn
by DinerGuy
Summary: 2018 reboot. They'd won the battle... but at what cost? Tag scene for 02.03 "Knight Lasts Forever"


_A/N: __Yeah... so I'm still trying to finish all of my Whumptober fills, but last night's episode _killed _me in so many ways. And then I needed more closure for my dear Higgy, so here we are. As you may have already deduced, this is a tag scene, so spoilers for the third episode of season two abound._

_Thanks to frankiemcstein for being my sounding board to work out some of my thoughts (and for basically starting this whole thing with the comment that she just wanted the boys to see what Higgins went through for Magnum)._

_Standard disclaimers_ _apply._

* * *

No one had slept much that night. They'd all given their statements about the kidnapping and subsequent gunfight, Magnum and T.C. had been checked out by paramedics, and they'd all been cleared to go home.

So, at first, Magnum had chalked up the way Higgins seemed a little… off to the lack of sleep and the stress of the night. After all, those mercenaries had gotten into the estate, held Higgins and Kumu prisoner, then knocked him out and kidnapped him—which had sent all of his friends on a frantic search and rescue operation. Higgins had a lot on her mind; a good rest once she got it would be the cure. He knew he certainly felt better after just the few hours of sleep he'd finally managed in the early hours of the morning, bruised shoulder and side notwithstanding.

But, the next day, the circles under her eyes hadn't diminished. If anything, they'd only increased. However, his well-intentioned inquiry if everything was okay had just earned him a tired smile and an, "I'm fine, Magnum."

She'd sounded like she'd come down with a cold, he'd thought, but he hadn't pushed the issue. Surely, Higgins would know if she was sick—in fact, he'd thought, she was probably dealing with it already and would start lecturing _him_ about his habits, so he'd just taken her answer with a raised eyebrow and said nothing.

Then Rick and T.C. had voiced their concerns over what seemed to be out of character behavior for "our girl."

"She looks like she hasn't slept in two days," T.C. had supplied. "Not to mention how jumpy she got when we passed the house and knocked on the open door to say hello."

She was pointedly avoiding the back portion of the estate with the koi pond, turned down two separate invitations to go running with Magnum "to clear our heads," and declined to join the others for a cookout the second day after the incident at the estate.

A request for information from Katsumoto hadn't done them any good. "I can't tell you anything from her statement, Magnum; you should know that. If you want or need to know for whatever reason, you'll have to ask her."

Which they had… again. With the same success as before. So they did the only other thing they could think of and asked Kumu.

This time, they got a little further, although, "I don't know how much I can really tell you," the older woman said apologetically. "Those guys locked us up in the wine cellar, and I didn't get out until Ms. Higgins and I broke a wine bottle and escaped." She shrugged and gave a sad shake of her head. "They did take her somewhere when they were asking us about the code to the safe; that Lina woman had threatened me with her gun, and that's when Juliet jumped in and told them she knew it."

Magnum tilted his head. "But… she didn't."

"They didn't know that," Kumu replied. "And then they dragged her out of the room, and I didn't see her again for what felt like hours."

"Did… she say anything about what had happened—what they'd done—when she got back?" Rick asked. He knew there was no way the mercenaries they'd taken down that night would have simply asked nicely for code and not have gotten angry when she wouldn't give it up.

Kumu shrugged again. "She didn't say much of anything when she first got back. When they brought her to the cellar again, she was soaking wet and shivering—and a little zoned out. I have no idea what they did to her, but she looked really shaken." Looking between the three men watching her intently, she sighed and smiled sadly. "I tried to distract her by focusing on our situation, but I could tell something was wrong. I guess she just didn't want to talk about it."

"Thanks, Kumu," Magnum said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She nodded with a small smile. "Sorry I couldn't be more help."

With smiles and murmured "thanks, Kumu"s of their own, Rick and T.C. followed as Magnum left the room. They knew from his expression he had a theory forming; in fact, they were pretty sure they had the same thought growing in their own minds. It would make a lot of sense… but none of them wanted to think of what Higgy had gone through if they were right.

"What do you think?" T.C. asked quietly when they were outside again. The looks on the other two's faces only confirmed his fears, and he swallowed.

"She said Sam tried to drown her in the koi pond," Magnum said quietly. "I just assumed…" then he shook his head. "I have access to footage from around the estate. Part of being the security consultant."

"Should we really watch it, though?" Rick asked slowly. "I mean, shouldn't we let her tell us if she really wants to?"

Magnum sighed heavily. "She keeps saying she's fine, but there's no way she is. We need to know what actually happened, and this is the only way." When Rick didn't reply right away, he continued. "Look, you know she would do the same for one of us if something was wrong."

They were back at the guest house at this point, and Magnum was tapping at his phone screen as they walked inside. He pulled up the security system app and swiped to pull up the right camera and approximate time. Then he scrolled forward through the footage until his face grew grim, and he held out the device so the other two could see over his shoulder.

The group of armed mercenaries were already on the screen when Magnum hit 'play,' and the footage started rolling. If Rick or T.C. noticed when Magnum clenched the phone tighter, neither said anything.

Higgins was struggling against the men's grip as they forced her into one of the patio chairs, each pinning one of her wrists to the armrests on either side. Then the man who had posed as Robin's publisher's son, Sam, quickly wrapped a zip tie around each of her wrists, tying them to the chair. Then, he leaned down to look her straight in the face.

Those watching the footage could hear his voice drifting through the camera—a plus to having the most advanced security system was cameras that recorded more than just images. _"Tell me what the code is,"_ he demanded.

When the only response he got was a glare, Sam nodded to the two men in tactical vests standing nearby. They immediately stepped forward and dragged the chair to which Higgins was tied over to the edge of the koi pond, letting the back legs drop over the edge to hit the shallow bottom. Higgins' head bounced at the shock wave that ran up the chair, but she just stared stoically ahead as the woman, Lina, crossed her arms.

_"We're going to ask you one more time before things get really bad for you,"_ Lina said harshly.

When Sam reached over to pick up something from the ground, Magnum's stomach clenched. The other man was now toying with a towel, keeping it in plain view of Higgins to add to Lina's threat.

But Higgins still just shook her head. _"I'm not telling you."_

_"Wrong answer." _Sam tilted the back of the chair down, reclining the seat and lowering Higgins until she was lying flat on her back.

A shiver ran up Magnum's spine as he watched as Lina grabbed a plastic jug of water that had been resting on its side in the pond. Then Sam slowly, almost tauntingly, stretched the towel over Higgy's face, and then the torture began.

Magnum wanted to look away as the sound of water gurgling was overtaken by coughing and choking from Higgins. Even through his phone's speakers, it was an unmistakable sound that made him sick to his stomach.

The mercs were holding Higgins' legs to the chair, one on each side as Lina continued to pour water over the towel. They held Higgins tightly, grinning as her feet kicked reflexively and her arms yanked at the restraints as her body fought to free itself, to find air… but she couldn't, and the men just continued to pin her down.

Magnum swallowed as memories flooded his mind. Memories of being in a dim, dirty room in a camp in the middle of Afghanistan. Memories of being strapped to a wooden table, his head lower than his feet. Memories of a rough cloth being placed over his head as water poured endlessly over his face…

Then he shook his head and forced his attention back to the screen as Higgins' coughing sounded more clear. Sam had removed the towel, and Lina was now leaning over the prisoner again. The way Higgy's chest was clearly hitching as she struggled to regain her breath was painfully obvious, and Magnum felt his own chest burning in sympathy.

He'd somewhat tuned out what the people on the tape were saying, not wanting to hear their threatening voices as they hovered over Higgins. But then Higgins' voice caught his attention.

_"You want to know the identity of the White Knight."_

It felt like someone had punched him in the gut. Higgins _knew._ She knew what the mercs had been there to find beyond just the code to Robin's safe.

_"You find out the identity of the White Knight… what then?"_

_"It's not up to us, but I am certain that it is not going to end well for him."_

They could see as Higgins clenched her jaw and braced herself even as Sam shoved the soaking wet towel over her face again and Lina tilted the jug above their prisoner's head.

Magnum growled and punched at the fast-forward button on the screen. Neither of his friends argued as he skipped through, watching the time stamp counting up, trying to figure out just how long those… animals had tortured Higgy.

It was much, much too long before the footage showed the group finally stopping. Higgins was barely kicking at that point, having already passed out on them once. Sam sliced through the ties holding Higgins to the chair, then used another to bind her wrists in front of her. She was then roughly yanked to her feet and practically dragged off-screen, her feet dragging even as she weakly scrabbled for a foothold.

Magnum hit the button to turn the video off, barely resisting the urge to chuck his phone across the room. He could feel rage burning inside of him. Glancing over at Rick and T.C., he could see the exact same expressions on their faces: anger and horror and a not-so-small amount of pride.

"She didn't give them anything," Rick breathed after a moment of silence.

T.C. nodded solemnly. "That's our Higgy."

A few minutes later, Magnum was hurrying across the grass to the main house. The video had explained so much that just hadn't quite added up so far, and he was kicking himself for not having identified the signs earlier. But that was the past. What mattered was now, what was coming, and he needed to let Higgy know she didn't have to go through the trauma alone.

Rick's words echoed in his mind._ "Now we just need to be there for her, just like we needed each other after the camp."_

Nearing the back door to the house, Magnum let out a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. Then he knocked and waited for her to answer. He _hoped _she would answer…

"Magnum?" Higgins glanced around as she opened the door, as if she was expecting someone to pop out from behind him.

"Hey, Higgy." He gave her a small smile. "Am I interrupting anything?"

She shook her head and leaned against the door frame, crossing her arms. The light spilling from inside the house highlighted her shadow, reflecting the light filtering through her blonde hair. "No, I was just doing some reading. Did you need something?"

"Before I begin, I just want you to know we only did this because we're so worried."

Her eyebrows went up. "Magnum, what on earth have you done now?"

"Higgy…" He looked at her for another moment. "I know what you did."

"What?"

"The… the koi pond," he said simply. "I watched the tape."

Her arms dropped to her sides, and he could hear her sharp intake of breath.

"Don't be mad," he quickly continued. "Please. We were just… we were worried about you."

She sighed. "I suppose that's fair. I've not been myself lately..."

"Well, of course not," he was quick to reassure her. "Higgy, what you went through… it was a lot. And I know those guys wanted to find out who the White Knight really was, so… well, you did it for me. And I don't think I can ever repay you for that."

In the shadows, he could see the corner of her mouth twitch upward. "You would've done the same for me," was all she said.

"That might be true, but still. That wasn't easy what you did." He reached out a hand to brush her arm. "And we want you to know—Rick, T.C., and I—we're here for you whatever you need. Really. We'll help however we can, and we expect you to tell us what you need, okay? Otherwise, it'll just be us constantly ganging up on you to ask if you're okay, and none of us want to have to do that."

Higgins chuckled, the first laugh he'd heard from her since before he'd left for the hotel in preparation for "Robin's guests," and it warmed his heart. She was still going to have a long way to go, but she was going to be okay.

That was their Higgy.

* * *

_Fin._


End file.
